Abstract
This chapter examines the changing perceptions of gangtaiqiang (i.e., mediatized Taiwanese Mandarin) among Chinese mainlanders and how televised media contribute to the formation of language ideology. This chapter shows that televised media play a role in reinforcing the socio-semiotic link between ideologies and linguistic practice. Gangtai qiang is traditionally associated with chic, urban television celebrities and young cosmopolitan types. However, the results of an online survey measuring language attitudes towards televised gangtai qiang among young mainlanders indicate that the social prestige of gangtai qiang may be waning for this demographic. Gangtai qiang is now perceived by many millennials on the mainland as gentle, pretentious and emasculated. The changing attitude among millennials on the Chinese mainland towards gangtai qiang can be ascribed in part to (1) social and economic changes on the mainland and (2) the way Taiwanese Mandarin is stylized in televised media.KeywordsTelevised mediaLanguage ideologyTaiwanese mandarin
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